Completely off topic...but is Windows XP dead?

[commodorejohn]

What games do you play on your gaming pc?
What specs are your gaming pc?
Are you using 32 or 64 bits windows xp?

32-bit XP, on a P4-2.8GHz (Prescott something-or-other) with 4GB DDR400 (just under 3GB recognized, but with all four it means I get dual-channel memory access) and a GeForce 7600 GT (8x AGP.) Aside from an attempt at Skyrim (the CPU and GPU aren't really up to it,) the newest thing I play on it is Oblivion. (I'm working on a heavily modded-up Morrowind install, though, I'm curious to see whether that will end up being more of a workout for the system...)

I'm looking at boosting it to a Core 2 board in the near future; I've already got a PCIe GeForce 8400 something-or-other to go with it.

[som99]

32-bit XP, on a P4-2.8GHz (Prescott something-or-other) with 4GB DDR400 (just under 3GB recognized, but with all four it means I get dual-channel memory access) and a GeForce 7600 GT (8x AGP.) Aside from an attempt at Skyrim (the CPU and GPU aren't really up to it,) the newest thing I play on it is Oblivion. (I'm working on a heavily modded-up Morrowind install, though, I'm curious to see whether that will end up being more of a workout for the system...)

I'm looking at boosting it to a Core 2 board in the near future; I've already got a PCIe GeForce 8400 something-or-other to go with it.

Nice to see another Elder Scrolls player
For AGP I could recommend an ATI Radeon HD3650, ive got one old 478 AGP 8x PC (no HT) with and 3.0GHz P4 and that AGP card, youd be surprised how much the poor old lady can run with that GFX card
Ive seen 3650s for good prices, tho lately AGP cards have risen quite a bit :/

But since your going PCI-E youll be better off You could pick up an Radeon 4870 or nvidia 260GTX for a really good price (Ive payed around 25-30$ for each) and with any dual core socket 775 CPU and that card you can run nearly all the latest games in low settings at least (Tried an E6300 overclocked @ 2,2GHz with an 260 GTX and it run both Skyrim and Borderlands in mid settings) under Windows XP.

[psxphill]

On somewhat new hardware XP is outdated yes, but if you are using older more performance limited hardware XP is more fitting then 7/8 (also much old hardware do not get drivers for new OS versions anymore).

I upgraded my 4 year old netbook from XP to 7 and now 8. I wouldn't put XP back on it. It's a 1.66mhz atom with 2gb of ram. I might drop to XP for something slower, but I might also put windows 2000 on it.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

My company uses all Windows 7 Pro 64-bit machines except for our phone PBX, which runs a custom embedded XP Pro.  I think that's the only place you're likely to see XP in the future, i.e., I was at a Sheetz and noticed one of their food-ordering computers was rebooting, with an XP screen.

Tried Windows 8 and hated it, and it won't run some of our business-critical apps (SQL stuff, mostly), so that's a no-go!

[som99]

I upgraded my 4 year old netbook from XP to 7 and now 8. I wouldn't put XP back on it. It's a 1.66mhz atom with 2gb of ram. I might drop to XP for something slower, but I might also put windows 2000 on it.

That's not such and old machine compared to when XP was relaeased, I would have stayed on XP but I would have blown it free from the bloatware the OEM installation comes with, the stuff the manufacturer puts on their machines slows down loads more then people might think.
I would have installed a shrinked version of XP to make it fast but that's because I would not have any need of windows 7 or 8 on such a machine.

My wife has an similar spec'd Acer aspire One, it still has XP but not the OEM it came with and I replaced the HDD with an SSD which did loads, works good for her as a machine for webbrowsing when we travel

[AmigaClassicRule]

I will use my Windows XP Professional 32 bit for four more months before I upgrade to Windows 7. I am doing that because I am waiting to save up enough to upgrade my CPU, upgrade my RAM, get a good video card and an entirely new HD, and get Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. I need to save up and squeeze another 2 to 3 years of my already 5 year old hardware before buying an entire new system hardware. Yes my hardware is at least 5 years old...I tend to drain out my hardware and software until I have no choice.

The biggest reason why I am upgrading to Windows 7 is because I have no choice. Ones Microsoft kills Windows XP I do not want to be in a vunerable stage of attack and hack and viruses. I have to upgrade to Windows 7 to protect myself and that is the only reason I am upgrading. Otherwise I will stick with Windows XP for as long as I can. The reason for that is because I already have all my files I need, customized my desktop, worked hard to fill up my favorite in the browser, have downloaded all the programs I need to enjoy my computer, I have made it MINE. I have made my Windows XP and my computer really MINE and it is only THANKS to Microsoft I am forced to get kicked out of my home (metaphorically speaking) and out in the street and now I have to get a new home.

THIS IS NOT FUN!

Backing up, not fun!

Downloading programs again not FUN!

Recustomizing my computer not FUN!

This whole experience makes me feel like I cannot keep my computer for me. That I have to make sure that I should prepare for the next move and that is NOT FUN!!

One of the biggest reasons why I loved Mac and Ubuntu is that you ARE NOT FORCED TO MOVE...just update and update and even change the entire UI by updating but you KEEP YOUR STUFF WITHOUT MOVING. You keep your customization, your security, everything...NOT FORCED to move every four years, every three years every five years....the feeling you cannot really open all your boxes anymore. You have to keep boxes closed for the next house move and that annoys me

[som99]

I will use my Windows XP Professional 32 bit for four more months before I upgrade to Windows 7. I am doing that because I am waiting to save up enough to upgrade my CPU, upgrade my RAM, get a good video card and an entirely new HD, and get Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. I need to save up and squeeze another 2 to 3 years of my already 5 year old hardware before buying an entire new system hardware. Yes my hardware is at least 5 years old...I tend to drain out my hardware and software until I have no choice.

The biggest reason why I am upgrading to Windows 7 is because I have no choice. Ones Microsoft kills Windows XP I do not want to be in a vunerable stage of attack and hack and viruses. I have to upgrade to Windows 7 to protect myself and that is the only reason I am upgrading. Otherwise I will stick with Windows XP for as long as I can. The reason for that is because I already have all my files I need, customized my desktop, worked hard to fill up my favorite in the browser, have downloaded all the programs I need to enjoy my computer, I have made it MINE. I have made my Windows XP and my computer really MINE and it is only THANKS to Microsoft I am forced to get kicked out of my home (metaphorically speaking) and out in the street and now I have to get a new home.

THIS IS NOT FUN!

Backing up, not fun!

Downloading programs again not FUN!

Recustomizing my computer not FUN!

This whole experience makes me feel like I cannot keep my computer for me. That I have to make sure that I should prepare for the next move and that is NOT FUN!!

One of the biggest reasons why I loved Mac and Ubuntu is that you ARE NOT FORCED TO MOVE...just update and update and even change the entire UI by updating but you KEEP YOUR STUFF WITHOUT MOVING. You keep your customization, your security, everything...NOT FORCED to move every four years, every three years every five years....the feeling you cannot really open all your boxes anymore. You have to keep boxes closed for the next house move and that annoys me

You know you can upgrade to Windows 7 and keep all your settings, files, favorites, program, background picture etc etc as it is right?
Pop in the Windows 7 DVD and pick upgrade instead of custom new installation, no files will dissapere and you will keep all but GUI as it was

Even if you need new hardware you can pop in the new hardware and keep your old harddrive with windows xp on, the upgrade will "repair" and add the new needed drivers and you will be safe.

About the backup part, I recommend everyone to make backup since you never know when your hard drive will bite the dust.
I myself have set up a server with 10x 2TB hard drives in mirror raid that backsup selected hard drives over the network once a month for me, it's set to backup my important drives from computers in the network, I highly recommend people to have some kind of backup system, all from CD/DVD's to flash storage or USB HDDS etc

If you got loads you want to keep backed up, an easier route then doing it like me with a server is using a NAS.

So don't worry you wont loose any files or programs and your settings will be saved

[k4lmp]

Actually, XP is pretty dead.
If you have a CD that pre-date SP3, you've got to manually install SP3.
It doesn't always work correctly.
And in a little over a year, updates for SP3 stop.

A good run, but it about done.

I always install SP3 manually, never had any issues at all.

[Nostalgiac]

It might have been said before, but the three big issues are lack of driver support for modern chips/devices, no 64 bit (xp64bit was a dead end, I did try it at the time it came out) and whats a lot of people disregard... security... XP was/is an open door.

So yes, unless you use it on very old hardware or virtual machines (*not* internet connected) ... it's dead Jim... dead...

Tom UK

[AmigaClassicRule]

You know you can upgrade to Windows 7 and keep all your settings, files, favorites, program, background picture etc etc as it is right?
Pop in the Windows 7 DVD and pick upgrade instead of custom new installation, no files will dissapere and you will keep all but GUI as it was
 
Even if you need new hardware you can pop in the new hardware and keep your old harddrive with windows xp on, the upgrade will "repair" and add the new needed drivers and you will be safe.
 
About the backup part, I recommend everyone to make backup since you never know when your hard drive will bite the dust.
I myself have set up a server with 10x 2TB hard drives in mirror raid that backsup selected hard drives over the network once a month for me, it's set to backup my important drives from computers in the network, I highly recommend people to have some kind of backup system, all from CD/DVD's to flash storage or USB HDDS etc
 
If you got loads you want to keep backed up, an easier route then doing it like me with a server is using a NAS.
 
So don't worry you wont loose any files or programs and your settings will be saved

Really? You mean it? Hmm...maybe I should follow your advice and do a complete back up first before attempting the upgrade method. IT WOULD BE SUPER sweet if that is all I need to do without full blown format!! Oh the joy behind that!!

[som99]

Really? You mean it? Hmm...maybe I should follow your advice and do a complete back up first before attempting the upgrade method. IT WOULD BE SUPER sweet if that is all I need to do without full blown format!! Oh the joy behind that!!

Ill recommend you to use software to do an complete image of your drive so you keep your MBR etc, there are lots of free software but I usually use norton ghost

I wish you good luck, ask away when you are doing it if you need help, everything done right and you wont loose anything

[Kremlar]

You know you can upgrade to Windows 7 and keep all your settings, files, favorites, program, background picture etc etc as it is right?
Pop in the Windows 7 DVD and pick upgrade instead of custom new installation, no files will dissapere and you will keep all but GUI as it was

No, this is not the case.  You cannot "upgrade" from XP to 7.  You can upgrade from Vista to 7, but cannot go from 32-bit to 64-bit.  Also, I'd never recommend "upgrading" - you are much better starting clean.
 
There is a migration tool Microsoft has that backs up data & settings, which you then can use to restore after you do a clean install of Windows 7.  But, if you're reasonably computer literate you can certainly copy off all that data manually and restore it when done, rather than trusting their tool to get everything you need.

[haywirepc]

I use linux for most of my needs, but still keep a windows xp install on my main pc solely for video editing. I do everything I need in xp as far as that is concerned, so until my video editor no longer works with xp (and even then I may just not upgrade the vid editor software) xp is fine for me.

With every release of windows the hardware requirements become greater and greater... The os saps more and more of the pc's power away from the user, its kind of ridiculous.

[commodorejohn]

Nice to see another Elder Scrolls player

Mostly Morrowind, really. There's a lot I like about Oblivion - much better combat mechanics, f'rinstance, and technically gorgeous visuals - but it just really hasn't aged well. Too many elements dumbed-down, and some changes that were intended to make things better just made them worse. (Particularly the way the magic system replaces gradually lessened spell-failure chances with arbitrary "milestone" skill levels where you're allowed to cast better stuff, making all the skill levels in between feel pointless, and the leveled-difficulty system, which is clearly intended to keep you challenged but ends up making you feel increasingly frustrated as the difficulty rapidly outpaces your character development to the point where you have to pour like two dozen arrows into a single random bandit!) Plus, it just doesn't feel like as much of a world so much as just a generic fantasy playset, as compared to Morrowind's frankly alien landscape - partly because, like a lot of fantasy works, it looks pretty much like France, and partly because having fully-voiced dialogue means there's a lot less of it to flesh things out, because every line costs money :/

I'm told Skyrim is an improvement on most of those fronts, at least, but I never got out of the tutorial dungeon on account of my system's inability to handle it. Hopefully it'll have more of what I liked in Morrowind than Oblivion did...

But since your going PCI-E youll be better off You could pick up an Radeon 4870 or nvidia 260GTX for a really good price (Ive payed around 25-30$ for each) and with any dual core socket 775 CPU and that card you can run nearly all the latest games in low settings at least (Tried an E6300 overclocked @ 2,2GHz with an 260 GTX and it run both Skyrim and Borderlands in mid settings) under Windows XP.

Yeah...I don't mind AGP, really, but it's much harder to track down a Socket 775 board with AGP than it is to just go PCIe, and anyway I got the card on the cheap at the recycle center so it's no big deal. Just gotta get around to getting a board + CPU combo and then I can cannibalize the RAM and extra disk storage from my current Core 2 box (non-gaming, as it only has the one PCI slot! Stupid little micro-ATX boards...at least it was cheap.)

[AmigaClassicRule]

Mostly Morrowind, really. There's a lot I like about Oblivion - much better combat mechanics, f'rinstance, and technically gorgeous visuals - but it just really hasn't aged well. Too many elements dumbed-down, and some changes that were intended to make things better just made them worse. (Particularly the way the magic system replaces gradually lessened spell-failure chances with arbitrary "milestone" skill levels where you're allowed to cast better stuff, making all the skill levels in between feel pointless, and the leveled-difficulty system, which is clearly intended to keep you challenged but ends up making you feel increasingly frustrated as the difficulty rapidly outpaces your character development to the point where you have to pour like two dozen arrows into a single random bandit!) Plus, it just doesn't feel like as much of a world so much as just a generic fantasy playset, as compared to Morrowind's frankly alien landscape - partly because, like a lot of fantasy works, it looks pretty much like France, and partly because having fully-voiced dialogue means there's a lot less of it to flesh things out, because every line costs money :/

I'm told Skyrim is an improvement on most of those fronts, at least, but I never got out of the tutorial dungeon on account of my system's inability to handle it. Hopefully it'll have more of what I liked in Morrowind than Oblivion did...


Yeah...I don't mind AGP, really, but it's much harder to track down a Socket 775 board with AGP than it is to just go PCIe, and anyway I got the card on the cheap at the recycle center so it's no big deal. Just gotta get around to getting a board + CPU combo and then I can cannibalize the RAM and extra disk storage from my current Core 2 box (non-gaming, as it only has the one PCI slot! Stupid little micro-ATX boards...at least it was cheap.)

Funny you should mention socket 775 I use socket 775 too!

Let us be honest, my hardware is of REALLY high end quality and the socket CPU 775 is NOT BAD CPU at all! It is these OSs that forces to get new hardware otherwise I am really comfortable with what I have if it wasn't for the lack of support that forces me to move really.  Maybe I am getting old, I don't know...but it is really tiring.

[orange]

@AmigaClassicRule

when M$ stops supporting winXP, it wont become automatically open to all viruses. some people probably still use win2000, win95 and even older systems, those are probably as secure as win7. you will still be able to run thirdparty firewall and updated antivirus and other apps.